Preliminary experimental study and simulation of an energy-tunable quasi-monochromatic laser-Compton X/γ-ray source

We propose a slanting collision scheme for Compton scattering of a laser light against a relativistic electron beam. This scheme is suitable to generate an energy-tunable X/γ-ray source. In this paper, we present theoretical study and simulation of the spectral, spatial and temporal characteristics of such a source. We also describe two terms laser-Compton scattering (LCS) experiments at the 100 MeV Linac of Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, where quasi-monochromatic LCS X-ray energy spectra with peak energies of ～30 keV are observed successfully. These preliminary investigations are carried out to understand the feasibility of developing an energy-tunable quasi-monochromatic X/γ-ray source, the future Shanghai Laser Electron Gamma Source.     

Inter-relationship of Various Results in Analysis of （14.0 MeV／U） Pb＋Pb Reaction Using Mica and CN-85 Track Detectors

Two detector materials mica and cellulose-nitrate(CN)-85 have been used to study (14.0MeV/u) Pb Pb reaction. Events of different multiplicities were registered in mica and CN-85 detectors using the 2π-geometry technique of solid state nuclear track detection. After removing the target material from the detectors the damaged trails in the detectors were revealed as tracks by proper chemical etching. The irradiated area of each sample was scanned and events of different multiplicities were traced. The binary events were bifurcated into elastic and inelastic events. The elastic binary events and three prong events, observed in the reaction, have been used to search out coefficients Cμv in the presence of both the detectors, for the reaction under study. Using these coefficients 3- and 4-prong events have been analysed. From the detailed analysis of the results of (14.0MeV/u) Pb Pb reaction, obtained from mica and CN-85 track detectors we observed a great resemblance of results obtained from the two detectors. Combining the results of both the detectors, we report some important outcomes.     

A geometric factor calculation method based on the isotropic flux assumption

One of the instruments onboard the China Seismic Electromagnetic Satellite （CSES） is the Low Energy Particle Detector （LEPD）. The primary objective of LEPD is to provide measurements of the fluxes, energy spectra and pitch angles of 100 keV to 10 MeV electrons and protons from 2 to 50 MeV in the Earth＇s magnetosphere. The geometric factor is one of the principle parameters of a detector, which converts the physical quantity-count rate to the particle quantity-flux. In this paper, we calculated the geometric factor of LEPD via computer modeling of an isotropic radiation environment. It was first demonstrated that the radiation intensity related should obey a cosine-law, then a general sampling method of generating this distribution via GPS of GEANT4 was explained. Furthermore, combined with flux normalization, a comparison of the geometric factor calculation of a set of 2-layer detectors with different shapes （cylinder, truncated cone and rectangle） was performed. Results show a generally good agreement between simulation and analytical calculations for the cylinder and truncated cone detectors, and the result of the rectangular one, for which there is no accurate analytical formula, is consistent with the previous simulated results by others. As a practical instance of the 2-layer rectangle detector, the geometric factor of LEPD is 10.336±0.036 m cm2·sr for 10 MeV proton and 8.211±0.032 m cm2·sr for 8 MeV electron.     

用于辐射复合与双电子复合实验的低能离子闪烁探测器

为了在CSRm的电子冷却器上进行辐射复合以及双电子复合实验, 需要探测能量小于4 MeV/u的离子, 因此设计了新的置于超高真空环境的CsI(Tl)闪烁探测器, 探测器采用的光电倍增管为R7525(Hamamatsu）。 介绍了新闪烁探测器的结构, 并对其进行了性能测试。 测试结果表明, 该探测器对高、 低能离子均有良好的响应, 探测器的信号十分明显。 探测器的最高计数率可以达到106 ions/s, 并且探测器附近的真空度可达10-10 Pa量级, 能够满足辐射复合与双电子复合实验以及储存环对真空的要求, 为今后在CSRm上进行复合实验打下了良好的基础。 A new CsI(Tl) scintillation detector readout with R7525 PMT(Hamamatsu）is designed to detect low energy (<4 MeV/u) ions in radiative recombination and dielectronic recombination experiments at the main cooler storage ring in Lanzhou. The structure of the scintillator detector is described in this paper. The detector is tested with α source and ion beams, respectively. The signals from background, 200 MeV/u C6+ and alpha radioactive source are recorded and analyzed. The results show that the detector has good response to high and low energy ions. The maximum counting rate of the detector can reach 106 ions/s and the vacuum level near the detector can reach 10-10 Pa, both are good for recombination experiments. The installation of the new detector to CSRm is of great help for future radiative recombination and dielectronic recombination experiments.     

An approach to evaluate the efficiency of γ-ray detectors to determine the radioactivity in environmental samples

This work provides an approach to determine the efficiency of γ-ray detectors with a good accuracy in order to determine the concentrations of either naturally occurring or artificially prepared radionuclides. This approach is based on the efficiency transfer formula(ET), the effective solid angles, the self- absorptions of the source matrix, the attenuation by the source container and the detector housing materials on the detector efficiency. The experimental calibration process was done using radioactive(Cylindrical Marinelli) sources, in different dimensions,that contain aqueous152 Eu radionuclide. The comparison point to a fine agreement between the experimental measured and calculated efficiencies for the(NaI HPGe) detectors using volumetric radioactive sources.     

Investigation of GEM-Micromegas detector on X-ray beam of synchrotron radiation

To reduce the discharge of the standard bulk Micromegas and GEM detectors, a GEM-Micromegas detector was developed at the Institute of High Energy Physics. Taking into account the advantages of the two detectors, one GEM foil was set as a preamplifier on the mesh of Micromegas in the structure and the CEM pream- plification decreased the working voltage of Micromegas to significantly reduce the effect of the discharge. At the same gain, the spark probability of the GEM-Micromegas detector can be reduced to a factor 0.01 compared to the standard Micromegas detector, and an even higher gain could be obtained. This paper describes the performance of the X-ray beam detector that was studied at 1W2B Laboratory of Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility. Finally, the result of the energy resolution under various X-ray energies was given in different working gases. This indicates that the GEM-Micromegas detector has an energy response capability in an energy range from 6 keV to 20 keV and it could work better than the standard bulk-Micromegas.     

Design and performance study of the LEPD silicon tracker onboard the CSES satellite

The low energy particle detector (LEPD) is one of the main payloads onboard the China seismic electromagnetic satellite (CSES). The detector is designed to ascertain space electrons (0.1-10 MeV) and protons (2-50 MeV). It has the capability of identifying the electrons and protons, to measure the energy spectrum and the incident angle of the particles. The LEPD is made up of a silicon tracker system, a CsI (Tl) mini-calorimeter, an anti-coincidence system made by plastic scintillator, as well as electronics and a data acquisition system (DAQ). The tracker is also a kind of E-E telescope; it consists of two layers of double-sided silicon strip detectors (DSSD). The signals emerging from the silicon tracker can be read out by two pieces of application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which also can generate an event trigger for the LEPD. The functions of the DSSD system in the LEPD for charged particles were tested by 241Am @5.486 MeV α particles. The results show that the DSSD system works well, and has high performance to detect charged particles and measure the position of incident particles.     

Monitoring the energy variation of an electron linac using a Cerenkov detector

A new method to monitor the energy variation of a multi-energy electron linac by combining a Cerenkov detector and a CsI（Tl） detector is reported. The signals in the Cerenkov detector show an appreciable but different dependence on the energy of the electron linac from the traditional CsI（Tl） detector due to the particular response of the former to charged electrons with high velocity above threshold. The method is more convenient than the HVL （half-value layer） method which is commonly employed to calibrate the energy of an electron linac for real time monitoring. The preliminary validity of the method is verified in a dual-energy electron linac with 6 MeV and 3 MeV gears. Moreover, the method combining the Cerenkov detector and the CsI（Tl） detector is applicable to probe the X-ray spectrum hardened by the inspected material and may serve as a novel tool for material discrimination with effective atomic number in radiation imaging.     

Discrimination of neutrons and γ-rays in liquid scintillator based on Elman neural network

In this work,a new neutron and γ(n/γ) discrimination method based on an Elman Neural Network(ENN) is proposed to improve the discrimination performance of liquid scintillator(LS) detectors.Neutron andγ data were acquired from an EJ-335 LS detector,which was exposed in a ~(241)Am-~9Be radiation field.Neutron and γ events were discriminated using two methods of artificial neural network including the ENN and a typical Back Propagation Neural Network(BPNN) as a control.The results show that the two methods have different n/γdiscrimination performances.Compared to the BPNN,the ENN provides an improved of Figure of Merit(FOM)in n/γ discrimination.The FOM increases from 0.907 ± 0.034 to 0.953 ± 0.037 by using the new method of the ENN.The proposed n/γ discrimination method based on ENN provides a new choice of pulse shape discrimination in neutron detection.     

Dosimetry Methods of Fast Neutron Using the Semiconductor Diodes

Semiconductor detectors based on a silicon pin diode are frequently used in the detection of different nuclear radiations. For the detection and dosimetry of fast neutrons, these silicon detectors are coupled with a fast neutron converter. Incident neutrons interact with the converter and produce charged particles that can deposit their energy in the detectors and produce a signal. In this study, three methods are introduced for fast neutron dosimetry by using the silicon detectors, which are： recoil proton spectroscopy, similarity of detector response function with conversion function, and a discriminator layer. Monte Carlo simulation is used to calculate the response of dosimetry systems based on these methods. In the different doses of an 241Am-Be neutron source, dosimetry responses are evaluated. The error values of measured data for dosimetry by these methods are in the range of 15-25%. We find fairly good agreement in the 241Am-Be neutron sources.     

基于4H-SiC的高能量分辨率α粒子探测器

为突破传统半导体核探测器耐高温与抗辐照性能不足的瓶颈,采用4H-SiC宽禁带半导体材料研制了4H-SiC探测器,并研究其构成的探测系统对α粒子的能量分辨率和能量线性度。所研制4H-SiC探测器漏电流低,当外加反向偏压为200V时,其漏电流仅14.92nA/cm2。采用具有5种主要能量α粒子的226 Ra源研究其构成的探测系统对α粒子的能量分辨率,获得4H-SiC探测系统对4.8~7.7 MeV能量范围内α粒子的能量分辨率为0.61%~0.90%,与国际上报道的高分辨4H-SiC探测系统能量分辨率一致。同时,实验结果表明:4H-SiC探测系统对该能量范围内α粒子的能量线性度十分优异,线性相关系数为0.999 99。     

低温辐射计紫外探测器光谱响应度测试技术研究北大核心CSCD

通过研制真空多光路切换组件,结合Y型真空比较通道、探测器真空舱,在保证超高真空环境的前提下,实现激光、紫外连续可调单色光以及真空紫外单色光3个光路的快速切换,从而以低温辐射计为基准,以紫外增强硅陷阱探测器为传递标准,实现波长115 nm~400 nm紫外探测器绝对光谱响应度的测量,实验验证绝对光谱响应度测量不确定度在115 nm~230 nm可达到0.8%~1.5%(k=2),在230 nm~400 nm可达到0.5%~1.0%(k=2)。     

Energy resolution of silicon charged particle detectors

It is shown that the energy resolution of silicon detectors, estimated from α-ray spectra irradiated by a reference α source (i.e., the surface resolution), is not always an indicator of detector quality. The energy resolution found from the spectra of particles that penetrate deeply into the detector material (i.e., the depth resolution) can be quite inferior to the surface resolution. It is proposed that detectors be tested in a quasimochromatic neutron flux.     

A versatile Monte Carlo package for computation of efficiencies of Si(Li), SDD and Ge detectors

Currently, most detector efficiency calculations for X‐ray detectors assume that the source is a point source on the axis of symmetry of the detector, but this is not always accurate. We have devised a Monte Carlo program to simulate photon transport in Si(Li), SDD and planar Ge detectors that natively handles finite, tilted and off‐axis sources. Although electron transport is not handled at this stage, photon transport is completely handled, including absorption from filters and multiple scattering in the detector crystal. The K escape peak is handled for both silicon and germanium detectors, and the L escape peak is also handled for germanium detectors. Our efficiency results compare very well with previous work when idealized systems are simulated, and the effect of a non‐idealized system is presented. Escape peak intensity ratios are given for both silicon detectors (K peak only) and germanium detectors (K and L peaks), and the results for the K escape peaks agree well with previous work. Results are presented for a recent annular detector system, which is a good example of systems that are poorly handled under previous efficiency calculations. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Employing a Cerenkov detector for the thickness measurement of X-rays in a scattering background

The variation in environmental scattering background is a major source of systematic errors in X-ray inspection and measurement systems.As the energy of these photons consisting of environmental scattering background is much lower generally,the Cerenkov detectors having the detection threshold are likely insensitive to them and able to exclude their influence.A thickness measurement experiment is designed to verify the idea by employing a Cerenkov detector and an ionizing chamber for comparison.Furthermore,it is also found that the application of the Cerenkov detectors is helpful to exclude another systematic error from the variation of low energy components in the spectrum incident on the detector volume.     

A modular solid state detector for measuring high energy heavy ion fragmentation near the beam axis

A multi-element solid state detector has been designed to measure fluences of fragments produced near the beam axis by high energy heavy ion beams in thick targets. The detector is compact and modular, so as to be readily reconfigured according to the range of fragment charges and energies to be measured. Preamplifier gain settings and detector calibrations are adjustable remotely under computer control. We describe the central detector, its associated detectors and electronics, triggering scheme, data acquisition and particle identification techniques, illustrated by data taken with 600 MeV/u 56Fe beams and thick polyethylene targets at the LBL Bevalac. The applications of this work to space radiation protection are discussed.     

Improvement of peak‐to‐background ratio in PIXE and XRF methods using thin Si‐PIN detectors

This paper describes the peak‐to‐background ratio improvement that can be achieved in PIXE and XRF applications by the use of thin crystal detectors. This improvement becomes apparent in the presence of an intense γ‐ray source, which can be produced either during proton irradiation of a sample (PIXE) or in the deexcitation of the radionuclide in radioisotope‐induced XRF analysis (RIXRF). In order to study theoretically the energy response of a silicon crystal in the x‐ray energy region with respect to its thickness and the energy of the incident γ‐radiation, a Monte Carlo simulation was performed. Experimentally, two detectors having crystal thicknesses of 300 µm and 3 mm were employed in specific analytical applications of PIXE, PIXE‐induced XRF and RIXRF techniques. The peak‐to‐background ratios obtained for various characteristic x‐rays were compared between the two detectors. The performances of the two detectors were also compared in the monochromatic XRF analysis of samples with low average atomic number matrix content. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preliminary experimental study and simulation of an energy-tunable quasi-monochromatic laser-Compton X/γ-ray source

We propose a slanting collision scheme for Compton scattering of a laser light against a relativistic electron beam. This scheme is suitable to generate an energy-tunable X/γ-ray source. In this paper, we present theoretical study and simulation of the spectral, spatial and temporal characteristics of such a source. We also describe two terms laser-Compton scattering (LCS) experiments at the 100 MeV Linac of Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, where quasi-monochromatic LCS X-ray energy spectra with peak energies of ～30 keV are observed successfully. These preliminary investigations are carried out to understand the feasibility of developing an energy-tunable quasi-monochromatic X/γ-ray source, the future Shanghai Laser Electron Gamma Source.     

Neutrino geophysics at Baksan I: Possible detection of georeactor antineutrinos

J.M. Herndon in the 1990s proposed a natural nuclear fission georeactor at the center of the Earth with a power output of 3–10 TW as an energy source to sustain the Earth magnetic field. R. S. Raghavan in 2002 pointed out that, under certain conditions, antineutrinos generated in such a georeactor can be detected using massive scintillation detectors. We consider the underground Baksan Neutrino Observatory (4800 m.w.e.) as a possible site for developments in geoneutrino physics. Here, the intrinsic background level of less than 1 event/yr in a liquid scintillation ～1000-t target detector can be achieved and the main source of background is the antineutrino flux from power reactors. We find that this flux is ～10 times lower than at the KamLAND detector site and two times lower than at the Gran Sasso laboratory and thus at Baksan the georeactor hypothesis can be conclusively tested. We also discuss possible searches for the composition of georeactor burning nuclear fuel by analysis of the antineutrino energy spectrum.